Surreal Sadistic Syrian Subterfuge

(Originally appeared at Slope of Hope, written by Bruno de Landevoisin) Yours truly, back from the motherland. Enjoyed long conversations with the extended French family over Camembert, saucisson sec & J&B scotch at the 600 hectar family estate "La Vallette" in Villers-Charlemagne, less than an hour's drive from the racy city of Le Mans, and about 350 km SW of gay Paris. Too bad I have zero claims to the property, it all went to my father's older brother. Sorry, I have no current pictures for you guys. As most of you know, I have been involuntarily holed up in a NYC sky box for an extended period of time, spending hour upon hour gazing at a computer monitor, eyes glazed over, staring at SOH's perfectly placed pixels. Thus, I decided to go on this particular overseas trip all physical no digital, blow me. For those interested, I did find this old post card of the family's property.

So what does this picturesque gentleman's farmland setting and fabulous frog family reunion have to do with Syria you ask? Well, first of all, a bit of French historical perspective, courtesy of our friends at Wikipedia:

The historical background quoted above is simply to show you that the French have been screwing around with Syria ever since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and that my frog cousins just might have a better grasp of what's currently going on in Syria then your average SOH bear. Being the obsessed macro mental midget that I am, I've been absolutely mesmerized by the unfolding situation, attentively watching as the strategic political & military alliances harden, and more importantly, attempting to grasp the geopolitical significance of what may actually be developing. Needless to say, I have been studying as many sources of information that I can get my hands on, whatever the medium; official government statements, U.N. dialogue, MSM professed news, alternative online news sites & blogs, historical background, known military maneuvers, known energy interests, chemical weapon experts, serious editorial opinion, hearsay, tweets on the ground, photographic evidence, and my well informed French cousins of course;-)

The conclusions I have come to are somewhat threatening in the short term, but even more disconcerting in the intermediate term, as the developing image is exposing a crystal clear picture of the ominous resource wars looming directly ahead. Equally dismaying, are the "honorable distinguished gentlemen" presiding over this Middle East mayhem, which are showing themselves to be either grossly incompetent cretins or dangerous duplicitous megalomaniacs. Take your pick. Both are extremely alarming assessments of our current leadership. To complete my Savant evaluation, I have broken down my analysis into three crucial areas of consideration, which I believe are central to understanding the seminal Syrian saga, as they all point in the very same disconcerting direction. And, that would be the ignoble, disgraceful and self-seeking tendency for mankind to succumb to the depraved unrighteous creed of "The end justify the means" no matter what the ethical implications and/or moral compromises. Let's get into it.

1. MENADestabilization 2.War Crimes 3. The Petro Dollar

1. MENA Destabilization: You would have to be a brainless long necked bird sticking your pin head in the desert sand, if you have not noticed the systematic destabilization of the entire MENA region. Does it not strike you as a tad too coincidental that one after the other, the formerly established and firmly controlled Arab States, have methodically degenerated, disintegrated and ultimately descended into ungovernable chaos. Why so many counties all at once? Why now? What has recently and so drastically changed to generate such a systemic chain reaction of falling dominoes? What's really behind all of this swift and sudden upheaval?

The dubious authorities of the western world proudly and boldly proclaim that the magnificent chimes of freedom have finally begun ringing throughout the democratically parched region. The West promptly and openly endorses the impetuous progressive grassroots political movements and immediately embraces the ferocious frenetic freedom-fighters rising up to claim their constitutional rights in the coiled desert sands of MENA, without a second of hesitation, reservation or thorough evaluation. Encouraging with these sea changes with pride, as is they were the inevitable manifestation of the benevolent global force the almighty western democracies magnanimously attribute to themselves. Certainly a far cry from the West's long standing and unrelenting policy of categorical support for despotic regimes which were generally characterized by a stifling grip on their societies and an unwavering commitment to protecting and advancing the West's narrow economic interest. So again, what has changed? Why all together now, what gives? Something does just doesn't add up. I smell a slick oily desert rat.

What has caused this sudden mass awakening in the Middle East? Can it really be the natural extension of the great enlightenment period of 18th century Europe which delivered the greatest democratic republics the world has ever known, that have defined and personified the ideal modern State, as our intrepid leaders would have us believe. Many international pundits and academic sociologists point to the ubiquitous openness of the new techno-communication age, as the critical catalyst which has suddenly galvanized these oppressed and largely unaware people, by introducing them to the luminary principles of self governance and all the fabulous fruits of a free society which come with it. Are we sure about this? I have my serious doubts. Let’s not reduce these ancient and highly civilized cultures into nothing but uninformed, ignorant and illiterate populations living in dismal hovels among goats. After all, over the past 50 years, most have had access to radios, newspapers and television sets, keeping them fully appraised of the burgeoning world around them. Therefore, I simply don’t buy the often cited meme that Facebook and Twitter introduced them to the wonders of the western world, which somehow awakened their political consciousness.

Moreover, most of the populations in these countries surely have a strong recollection and historic appreciation for their national liberation and independence movements that broke the chains of colonialism, which brought them out from under the stifling boot of self-serving imperialism. Undoubtedly, these people certainly had previous experience with, and had been explicitly exposed to the ideas and ideals of enlightenment, which include liberty, independence and self-governance. Obviously, the western backed self-seeking strong men that grabbed power and presided over these police States made sure that notion never saw the light of day. However, despite the brutal repression and subjugation they endured and suffered under, these modern Arab citizens, directly due to the historic proximity, must of had appreciation of their own independence movements, and thus, would have remained fully cognizant and enlightened enough regarding the actual existence of the true principles of democratic self governance and a free society. After all, one does not have to physically experience an ideal to be aware of its fundamental existence.

If you really get right down to it, many of the initial thoughts which inspired the ideals of political enlightenment, trace their fundamental origins way back to the tomes which had been kept at the Ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt. The enlightened works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, all part of the library's great catalog of crucial books, left a great impression on Socrates, considered the great grand father of enlightenment. His vital influence, ideas and approach remains a strong foundation for much of western philosophy that followed. All of which get us right back to where I started, with our original question. What has so suddenly ignited and fanned MENA’s new found flames of freedom? Why systematically altogether now?

As per usual, in our wanton wayward world, nothing is what it seems to be. We're not in Kansas anymore my dear, this certainly ain't about human enlightenment Dorothy. Not even close. The man behind the curtain pulling the levers is what this Idiot Savant is focused on. The simultaneous systematic destabilization we are witnessing is no accident my friends. Make no mistake. It's a deliberate newly adopted policy being rolled out and methodically implemented by the West to foment widespread instability, so as to change the previously orchestrated dynamic and now out dated geopolitical balance of power & economic control model existing in the critical energy rich region. TPTB seek a new paradigm to maintain their dominance and hegemony. More on this point later.

Irrespective to the views of the Syrian people, their fate has been decided by forces operating beyond their borders. In an extraordinary speech given to the Commonwealth Club of California in 2007 retired US Military General Wesley Clark speaks of a policy coup initiated by members of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). Four star General Clark cites a confidential document handed down from the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2001 stipulating the entire restructuring of the Middle East and North Africa. Portentously, the document allegedly revealed campaigns to systematically destabilize the governments of Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. The civil war in Syria is already spreading into neighboring countries like Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, and if one looks at the facts objectively, the entire war is a product of explicit covert actions on the part of the U.S. and its allies.

Please indulge me to quote the nearly full text of an extensive article by noted Middle East expert, Nile Bowie, which is by far the most comprehensive, detailed and credible examination of the specific Syrian circumstances I have read to date. Sorry, a simple link will not do here. If you really want to know what's happening there, you must real ALL of it! You won't get any of this from the lamentable, deceitful and dumbed down clown show that is CNN.

"Syria is but a chess piece being used as a platform by larger powers. Regime change is the unwavering interest of the US-led NATO block in collaboration with the feudal Persian Gulf Monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is being accomplished by using Qatar-owned media outlets such as Al-Jazeera to project their version of the narrative to the world and by arming radical factions of the regions Sunni-majority population against the minority Alawi-Shia leadership of Assad. Since 2005, the Bush administration began funding Syrian opposition groups that lean toward the Muslim Brotherhood and their aspirations to build a Sunni-Islamic State. The Muslim Brotherhood has long condemned the Alawi-Shia as heretics and historically attempted multiple uprising in the 1960’s. By arming radical Sunni factions and importing Iraqi Salafi-jihadists and Libyan mercenaries, the NATOGCC plans to topple Assad and install an illegitimate exiled opposition leader such as Burhan Ghaliun (leader of the Syrian National Council) to be the face of the new regime.

The recent example of implementing foreign policy by arming Al-Qaeda fighters in Libya has proved disastrous - as the rule of law passes from the NATO-backed Libyan Transitional Council to hundreds of warring guerilla militias. At a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Hillary Clinton, Davutoglu pledged to find ways outside the United Nations Security Council to pressure Assad. In addition to bolstering longstanding sectarian divides in Syria, the US is smuggling arms into Syria from Incirlik military base in Turkey and providing financial support for Syrian rebels.Syrian opposition forces led by defected Syrian colonel Riad al-Assad have been trained on Turkish soil since May 2011. Exclusive military and intelligence sources have reported to Israel’s DEBKAfile that British and Qatari special operations units are assisting rebel forces in Homs by providing body armor, laptops, satellite phones and managing rebel communications lines that request logistical aid, arms and mercenaries from outside suppliers.

Although the UK has vehemently denied these reports, Qatar’s leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani recently suggested sending troops into Syria to battle Assad’s forces. Military bases situated near Turkey’s southeastern border with northern Syria have become a crucial hub used for the delivery of outside supplies. Unmarked NATO warplanes near Iskenderum have received fighters from Libya’s Transitional National Council wielding weapons formerly belonging to Gaddafi’s arsenal. Abdel Hakim Belhaj, (former leader of the extremist Libyan Islamic Fighting Group turned NTC military governor at the directive of NATO) is leading the infiltration of Libyans into Syria in person with the help of the Turkish government. It has also been reported that Mahdi al-Harati, resigned from his functions as deputy chief of the Military Council in Tripoli to oversee the Free Syrian Army.

Syrian press has also reported that armed terrorist groups brandishing up-to-date American and Israeli weapons have roamed the countryside of Damascus committing blind acts of terror by setting off explosive devices and kidnapping civilians. As the NATOGCC continue to insist that Assad is committing acts of genocide against unarmed civilians, one must draw correlations between events reported by the Syrian state media and recent statements released by the leadership of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, praising the arrival of Iraqi fighters in Syria and advising rebels to use roadside bombs. Paradoxically, Al-Qaeda front man Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Muslims from across the Arab World to mobilize and support the Free Syrian Armyafter the disappointing Russian and Chinese veto at the UNSC. Few things are more absurd than the notion of Al-Qaeda terrorists – unanimously portrayed as ostensible “savages” by virtually all-Western media sources - entrust the apparatus of the United Nations and their capacity to resolve the Syrian conflict. The true purpose of Al-Qaeda and its role in influencing foreign policy has never been more evident.

Through the fiery rhetoric of Susan Rice and her relentless condemnation of Assad - like Gaddafi before him - the United States is again attempting to invoke the Right to Protect (R2P) doctrine to take direct action against the Assad regime. In another parallel to the Libyan conflict, the UN’s astounding official death toll in Syria is taken solely from human rights groups, backed by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the International Criminal Court and the Syrian National Council. The official numbers rely exclusively on an obscure organization known as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights(SOHR) - based in London, not Damascus - whose evidence is largely reliant on hearsay, pixelated YouTube videos and activist Twitter feeds. SOHR’s disputed reports present evidence that would not hold up in any court of law, much less should it be the basis of United Nations resolutions. The Observatory's director Rami Abdelrahman collaborates directly with British Foreign Minister William Hague and derives legitimacy solely from connections with corporate/foundation-funded civil society networks. Claims that Assad’s security forces indiscriminately kill scores of newborn babies are palpably a product of Britain’s foreign office.

The conflict in Syria has brought light to longstanding Cold War divisions between world powers. The Sino-Russian veto of the UNSC resolution calling for intervention has blocked the opportunity for Western powers to exert overt aggression, as demonstrated by NATO in Libya. Instead, it appears that the Assad regime will be destabilized through covert mercenary groups bent on committing blind acts of terrorism by means of sniper assassinations and roadside bombs. Learning from the Libyan experience, Russia and China perceive the UN Human Rights Report authored by Karen Koning AbuZayd, a director of the Washington-based corporate-funded think-tank, Middle East Policy Council – to be explicitly comprised; victims among the civilian population are a result of armed paramilitaries doing battle with the Syrian military in residential areas. In an interview with former Russian Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov pledges that Russia will protect Iran, Syria, and the world from American fascism. In a show of support for the Syrian government, Russia has sent a large naval force into the region and China has further warned against a strike on Syria.

It is truly a paradox that the countries least fit to dictate principles of human rights, do so largely unhindered on the world stage. Without hesitation Hillary Clinton proclaimed, “What happened yesterday at the United Nations was a travesty” referring to the Sino-Russian veto. She then called for the formation of an international alliance between the war-profiteering elite of the West and absolutist Wahhabi Persian Gulf monarchies – amusingly titled, the Friends of Syria. International calls to abstain from violence have done little to influence the Gulf Cooperation Council and their brutal crackdown against Shiites in Bahrain. Incredibly, Saudi Arabia has entered the dialogue on human rights and democracy promotion – perhaps the world’s most defining feudalistic theocracy, a nation that prohibits political parties and national elections and executes those who apostatize Islam.

Domestic affairs in Syria are of little consequence to the powers trying to topple the nation; the real priority is to further isolate Iran by eliminating its Shia-Alawi ally in Damascus. Israel reaps enormous benefit from toppling the Assad regime, as the Syrian Nation Council pledges to cut ties with Iran and discontinue arms shipments to Hezbollah and Hamas. If Syria falls and Iran is directly threatened, the potential for a regional conflict of the utmost seriousness exists, assuming China and Russia move in to defend Iran."

How do you like them apples? Still convinced that we have no hidden agenda here. Hard to dispute the facts Jack. The West is clearly intent on toppling the Assad regime through questionable alliances and nefarious methods, the only remaining question is why? What's the end game? We will dig into that later.

2. War Crimes: On to the present day's gaseous fiasco gaff. In my view, it would have to be particularly difficult to ascertain, especially during the fog of a brutal and convoluted civil conflict, that has already claimed 100,000 lives, which side may or may not have set off several canisters of mustard gas in the middle of the night. As heinous and repulsive the act of deliberately dispersing chemical weapons on innocent civilians is, I find it astonishing that this particular incident calls for an immediate and absolute imperative necessity for the United States of America to militarily enter into Syria's civil war, which was so boldly proclaimed by the not so honorable POTUS (Drone monkey) Obama, SOS John (swift boat) Kerry, Joe (Afghan attack) Biden, John (Bomb,bomb,bomb Iran) McCain and other sorted asinine Congressional company, or should I say assassins.

Each one of our benevolent leaders, cited above, was initially ready to instantly unleash lethal Tomahawk cruise missile. They were to be immediately launched from the decks of U.S. Navy Ticonderoga class cruisers, which stood at the ready purposely parked in the eastern Mediterranean, onto a Sovereign Nation State without hesitation, reservation nor definitive evidence based confirmation of the Assad regime's culpability. Even more astounding, they were apparently more than prepared to release the Kraken before the actual verifiable culprits had been duly identified by any sanctioned international authorities. The use of chemical weapons is a breach of the Geneva convention, as in international law. One would think an international body would determine the violation in question. Not sure the global statesmen that drafted the war crimes articles envisioned unilateral enforcement by self-seeking self interested powers. If this doesn't show you that something treacherous is afoot, I guess nothing will. So don't mind me, I'll leave you guys to your patriotic duty of encouraging this madness, along with the entire co-opted demented American MSM "free press", senselessly chanting USA! USA! USA!

By the way, just so you don't think a pesky Frenchman is sticking it to you ungrateful cowboys, over 60% of the French citizenry is also firmly opposed to any military response, and guess what, their duly elected leadership, like yours, don't give a flying fuck what the people want. As a matter of fact, Chief of Frogs Hollandaise, has actually been calling for an even more extensive military operation. The dead Daffy duck no fly zone, a la Libya. More on this later.

For those of you true believers (Tesla, Ryans & Bleak) that may still be sold on Kerry's cockamamie ketchup crusade, here's one more juicy slice of the bloody tomato:

"One of the world’s leading experts on chemical weapons, Jean Pascal Zanders, on Friday told The Huffington Post UK that he has significant doubts about the identity of the chemical agent widely blamed for the deaths in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

“We don’t know what the agent is,” said Zanders, who until recently served as senior research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, an EU agency that scrutinizes defense and security issues. “Everyone is saying sarin. There is something clearly to do with a neurotoxicant [such as sarin], but not everything is pointing in that direction.”

The agent used is a crucial piece of information, Zanders said, because the family of neurotoxicants that includes military weapons such as nerve agents also encompasses industrial products like those used to control rodents. Until the actual agent can be identified, any link to the Assad regime is tenuous, Zanders said.

“If say, for example, a neurotoxicant was taken from a factory and used at [Ghouta], then the number of actors who might be responsible for that then increases,” he said

On Thursday, Lawrence Wilkerson, who reviewed the intelligence presented by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell as justification for the war in Iraq a decade ago, told HuffPost that the preparations for a Syria strike seem devoid of authority.

Wilkerson [who largely drafted Powell's speech] likened the current debate to a repeat of the days he spent preparing for Powell’s since-debunked testimony, “with people telling me [former Iraq President] Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction with absolutely certainty.”

He added: “It seems like the same thing again.”

Let me insert one final informative quote from AP news on the gross gas gag, just below. Speaking of inserting, why don't you ram a Hienz long neck ketchup bottle firmly up your bony ass John. By the way, instead of windsurfing wanker wonder-boy, if you had indeed intercepted specific Syrian intel regarding the immanent deployment of chemical weapons, three days in advance of their use, as you fervently have claimed, why the fuck did you fail to warn your beloved freedom fighters, so they could have taken proactive measures to protect the soon to be poisoned innocent women and children?

"Syrian rebels in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta have admitted to Associated Press correspondent Dale Gavlak that they were responsible for last week’s chemical weapons incident which western powers have blamed on Bashar Al-Assad’s forces, revealing that the casualties were the result of an accident caused by rebels mishandling chemical weapons provided to them by Saudi Arabia."

So my fellow Slope-a-Dopes, back to our original opening assertion. Now that we know the self-seeking means they have disgracefully justified. The last piece of the puzzle is to determine the ends that they are so intently after. Remember what we postulated at the very beginning of this excruciatingly long SOH/EP terrifying tome. One of mankind's most reprehensible creeds is; "The end justifies the means". We certainly now understand the means, it is high time we explore the end game.

3. Petro-Dollar: During this entire surreal Syrian Sarin spectacle, with all of its grave global implications, one of the most incomprehensible episodes which really set me off, had to be when I watched the entire live debate in the British House of Commons regarding the ratification of the UK's previously announced military involvement. After a conference call from President Obama, Prime Minister Cameron impulsively made the stunning decision to immediately strike Syria, in response to Assad's alleged gas attack, even while the uncertain situation was still unfolding on the ground. The whole dreadfully disappointing affair lasted about two and half hours, with one "distinguished honorable gentleman" after another rising up to soundly articulate or in most cases persuasively pontificate their supposedly informed views and opinions on the very serious matter at hand. What both struck me and disgusted me, was that out of all the so called "distinguished honorable gentleman and women", not a bloody single one of these duly elected parliamentarians would level with their citizenry regarding the western powers obvious real and actual aims here. It was as if I were a 2nd grader in a class room, and the terrified principal had told the teachers to keep all the children in the dark about the weirdo with an Uzi stalking the cafeteria.

The entire debate centered around the heavy burden, moral obligation and distinct responsibility which the United Kingdom would shoulder, as a leading, exceptional and exemplary world power, in response to a flagrant violation of the acceptable "rules of war" resulting in crimes against humanity. Some members wanted to strike immediately to send an unequivocally strong message to Assad, others wanted to wait for further clarification of the facts on the ground before commencing military action, and still others insisted that a political solution remained the best option. Not once did the real reasons and goals behind the West's current and direct involvement in the Syrian conflict come up, not even one time! About hundred of these UK parliamentarian clowns rose up and sat down to spew their moral outrage for the apparent gas attack, yet not one single one of them had the honest integrity to educate the people regarding the West's obvious geopolitical aims and impending grave risks involved. Real leaders stand as teachers, not deceptive oligarchs, and rarely do they take on the role without considerable reservations. These petty puffed up pikers were a joke. One would have thought we were in the U.S. Congress. In the end, they ended up making the right decision for all the wrong reasons.

Courtesy of Michael Snyder, below is a sobering litany of crucial circumstances and critical considerations directly involved in the deadly serious Syrian situation, that went completely missing, utterly ignored and categorically disregarded during the pompous House of Commons' dubious debutante deliberations. Take a hard look:

#1 The UK, France and the United States do not have the approval of the United Nations to attack Syria and it is not going to be getting it.

#2 Syria has said that it will use "all means available" to defend itself against attacks. Would that include terror attacks in the United States, France and the UK itself?

#3 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem made the following statement on Tuesday...

"We have two options: either to surrender, or to defend ourselves with the means at our disposal. The second choice is the best: we will defend ourselves"

#4 Russia has just sent their most advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria. What do you think would happen if images of sinking allied naval vessels were to come flashing across our television screens?

#5 When the United States attacks Syria, there is a very good chance that Syria will attack Israel. Just check out what one Syrian official said recently...

A member of the Syrian Ba'ath national council Halef al-Muftah, until recently the Syrian propaganda minister's aide, said on Monday that Damascus views Israel as "behind the aggression and therefore it will come under fire" should Syria be attacked by the U.S. and its allies

In an interview for the American radio station Sawa in Arabic, President Bashar Assad's fellow party member said: "We have strategic weapons and we can retaliate. Essentially, the strategic weapons are aimed at Israel."

Al-Muftah stressed that the US's threats will not influence the Syrain regime and added that "If the US or Israel err through aggression and exploit the chemical issue, the region will go up in endless flames, affecting not only the area's security, but the world's."

#6 If Syria attacks Israel, the consequences could be absolutely catastrophic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promising that any attack will be responded to "forcefully"...

"We are not a party to this civil war in Syria but if we identify any attempt to attack us we will respond and we will respond forcefully"

#7 Hezbollah will likely do whatever it can to fight for the survival of the Assad regime. That could include striking targets inside the United States, UK, France and Israel.

#8 Iran's closest ally is Syria. Will Iran sit idly by as their closest ally is removed from the chessboard? They have previously stated that they would send Iranian troops into the conflict, and can disrupt the flow of oil tankers through the Straights of Hormuz.

#9 Starting a war with Syria will cause significant damage to our relationship with Russia. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the West is acting like a "monkey with a hand grenade".

#10 Starting a war with Syria will cause significant damage to our relationship with China. And what will happen if the Chinese decide to start dumping the massive amount of U.S. debt that it is holding? Interest rates would absolutely skyrocket and we would rapidly be facing a nightmare scenario.

#11 Dr. Jerome Corsi and Walid Shoebat have compiled some startling evidence that it was actually the Syrian rebels that the U.S. is supporting that were responsible for the chemical weapons attack that is being used as justification to go to war with Syria...

With the assistance of former PLO member and native Arabic-speaker Walid Shoebat, WND has assembled evidence from various Middle Eastern sources that cast doubt on Obama administration claims the Assad government is responsible for last week’s attack.

#12 As Pat Buchanan recently noted, it would have made absolutely no sense for the Assad regime to use chemical weapons on defenseless women and children. The only people who would benefit from such an attack would be the rebels...

The basic question that needs to be asked about this horrific attack on civilians, which appears to be gas related, is: Cui bono?

To whose benefit would the use of nerve gas on Syrian women and children redound? Certainly not Assad’s, as we can see from the furor and threats against him that the use of gas has produced.

The sole beneficiary of this apparent use of poison gas against civilians in rebel-held territory appears to be the rebels, who have long sought to have us come in and fight their war.

#15 A war in the Middle East will cause the price of oil to sky rocket. On Tuesday, the price of U.S. oil rose to about $110 a barrel.

#16 A lot of innocent civilians inside Syria will end up getting killed. Already, a lot of Syrians are expressing concern about what "foreign intervention" will mean for them and their families...

"I've always been a supporter of foreign intervention, but now that it seems like a reality, I've been worrying that my family could be hurt or killed," said one woman, Zaina, who opposes Assad. "I'm afraid of a military strike now."

"The big fear is that they'll make the same mistakes they made in Libya and Iraq," said Ziyad, a man in his 50s. "They'll hit civilian targets, and then they'll cry that it was by mistake, but we'll get killed in the thousands."